Bears Look to Even Score with Mavericks
4/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 25, 2005
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GAME 44 • APRIL 26, 2005 • 6:00 P.M.
No. 11 BAYLOR (27-16)
vs.
TEXAS-ARLINGTON (22-22)
BAYLOR BALLPARK • WACO, TEXAS
THE SERIES
Overall Record: Baylor leads 65-28
Waco: Baylor leads 39-12
Arlington: Baylor leads 26-16
Neutral Site: Never Met
Smith vs. UTA: 19-8
Last Meeting: at UTA 2, Baylor 0 [4/12/05]
COACHES
BAYLOR: Steve Smith
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 399-250-1 (11th season)
Record at Baylor: 399-250-1 (11th season)
UT-ARLINGTON: Jeff Curtis
Alma Mater: Nebraska-Kearney, 1990
Career Record: 120-102 (4th season)
Record at UTA: 120-102 (4th season)
BAYLOR RADIO NETWORK
ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM (Waco)
Tom Barfield, play-by-play
Lark Smith, color
INTERNET FEEDS
GameTracker: www.BaylorBears.com
Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Video: None
BAYLOR NATIONAL RANKINGS
Baseball America 11th
Sports Weekly/ESPN/Coaches 16th
NCBWA 10th
Collegiate Baseball 12th
PROJECTED STARTERS
BU - RHP Jeff Mandel (0-0, 0.84 ERA)
UTA - RHP Dillon Gee (4-4, 5.30 ERA)
Baylor returns to action Tuesday, April 26, hosting Texas-Arlington for a non-conference game. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT at Baylor Ballpark. This is the third and final scheduled regular-season meeting between Baylor and UTA; the Mavericks won the first two meetings, 9-6 at Baylor Ballpark in February and 2-0 two weeks ago at Arlington.
The Bears (27-16) have dropped three of their last five games, including losing two of three at 11th-ranked Nebraska last weekend. Ranked 11th in this week's Baseball America Top 25, Baylor is 8-4 in its last 12 games but only 1-4 against the Southland Conference this season.
The Mavericks (22-22) snapped a four-game losing streak Sunday with a 5-0 victory at home against McNeese State. UTA is 4-6 in its last 10 games.
All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM in Waco. Live streaming audio and GameTracker also are available for all Baylor baseball games online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the College Sports Network.
LEADING OFF: BEARS DROP THREE SPOTS IN BASEBALL AMERICA
Baylor dropped three spots in this week's Baseball America Top 25, landing at No. 11 in the season's 13th ranking. The Bears posted a 2-3 record last week, suffering the dreaded No. 8 curse for a third time this season. No team ranked No. 8 by Baseball America this season has finished that week unscathed, including 12 of the 13 losing at least twice.
Texas remained the nation's top-ranked team, followed by Cal State Fullerton, Tulane, Florida and Miami, Fla. Oregon State climbed three spots to No. 6, while Georgia Tech (swept over the weekend at Virginia) dropped to No. 7. Nebraksa, Arizona and North Carolina round out the top 10.
Baylor is the third highest-ranked Big 12 team behind Texas and Nebraska, despite the fact that the Bears lead the conference by one-and-a-half games. No. 14 Missouri is the only other ranked Big 12 team. Other 2005 Baylor opponents in this week's rankings are No. 12 Long Beach State, No. 15 Rice, No. 17 Arizona State, No. 18 Tennessee and No. 25 Vanderbilt. Baylor is 11-3 against ranked teams this season and 10-4 against teams in this week's rankings.
In the other rankings, Baylor dropped two spots to No. 16 in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll, one spot to No. 10 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association Top 35 and two spots to No. 12 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30.
QUICK NOTES ...
• Baylor and Texas-Arlington meet for the 94th time Tuesday. The Bears hold a 65-28 advantage in the all-time series.
• Baylor's 13-5 start in Big 12 play is its best six-series start since starting the 1999 season 15-3. The 2000 Big 12 Champions team started 12-6 and went 11-1 the rest of the way.
• Baylor is 11-3 this season against nationally ranked opponents.
• Baylor has won a program-best six consecutive games against teams ranked in the top 10 nationally. The previous program best was five in 1999.
• The Bears are 23-7 this season when the starting pitcher goes at least 5.0 innings.
• Baylor is 9-2 this season on Sunday.
• Baylor is 10-3 this season in Championship Gold jerseys.
• Baylor is 20-3 this season when scoring first.
• Baylor is 7-0 when leading after one inning, 10-3 after two, 13-2 after three, 15-2 after four, 17-1 after five, 22-1 after six and 23-1 after seven innings or later.
• OFs Chase Gerdes and Kevin Sevigny are hitting .333 and .319, respectively, during the month of April. Gerdes entered the month hitting .213, while Sevigny entered the month hitting .136.
• OF Reid Brees is hitting .326 during the month of April; he began the month hitting .247.
• Brees is hitting .346 (9-for-26) over the last 10 games.
• Sevigny is hitting .343 (12-for-35) over the last 10 games.
• C/DH Josh Ford is hitting .325 (11-for-38) over the last 10 games.
• 2B Michael Griffin has committed only five errors in 195 chances at second base this season, his first collegiate season at second. He has played error-free ball in 39 of Baylor's 43 games.
• RHP Mark McCormick has allowed only 16 runs, 10 earned, on 31 hits and 24 walks with 58 strikeouts over his last 56.2 innings. In that time, he is 6-1 with a 1.59 ERA and a .156 opponents' batting average (199 at bats). McCormick's overall ERA has dropped from 10.27 to 2.85 in that time.
• Baylor is 9-2 this season in McCormick's 10 starts.
• In LHP Trey Taylor's last 22 starts, he has allowed three or fewer earned runs 18 times and two or fewer 14 times. Baylor is 14-5 in Taylor's last 19 starts; he is 8-4 in that time.
• Last Friday's start was the 10th time since the beginning of the 2004 season that Taylor has pitched at least 5.0 innings and allowed fewer earned runs than the opposing pitching staff and did not earn a win. In two of those 10 games, Taylor has been saddled with the loss.
• Ford failed to reach base safely in Sunday's game at Nebraska. That snapped a streak of 37 consecutive games in which he reached safely. Ford has reached safely in 41 of 43 games this season.
• RHP Ryan LaMotta has pitched scoreless ball in 18 of 21 appearances this season. Prior to giving up a leadoff home run in the ninth inning last Tuesday at TCU, LaMotta had pitched 28.2 consecutive scoreless innings covering 14 appearances.
• Since March 1, LaMotta is 2-0 with four saves and a 0.27 ERA, allowing only one run on 17 hits and seven walks with 42 strikeouts in 33.1 innings. In that time, LaMotta has held opponents to a .152 batting average.
• LaMotta has allowed six of 22 inherited runners to score. Four of those six runners scored by virtue of an error.
• RHP Jeff Mandel has not allowed an earned run in 10 consecutive appearances, allowing only two unearned runs in that time (21.1 innings).
• SS Paul Witt leads the team with 13 two-out RBI this season (he has 19 total RBI).
• Since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, the Bears have the league's best conference record at 150-88 (.630). Baylor leads all conference schools in both first-team All-Big 12 selections (21) and first-team Academic All-Big 12 selections (47), and the Bears are the only Big 12 Conference program to have ranked in the top 10 nationally at some point during each of the past eight seasons (1998-2005).
• Baylor is tied for 25th nationally in total wins since 2000, third among Big 12 Conference teams, with 217 wins through games of April 17, 2005.
• Since 1998, Baylor also is third in the Big 12 in total wins with 308 victories behind only Texas (338) and Nebraska (328) through games of April 17, 2005.
THE TEXAS-ARLINGTON SERIES
Baylor and Texas-Arlington meet for the 94th time Tuesday. The Bears hold a 65-28 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to a 3-2 and 2-0 Baylor sweep of a doubleheader Feb. 26, 1973 in Waco.
The Bears have lost four of the last five meetings, including losses of 9-6 at Baylor Ballpark in February and 2-0 at Arlington two weeks ago.
Baylor leads the series 39-12 in games played in Waco; however, the Mavericks have won each of their last two trips to Waco.
The Bears are 19-8 against UTA under head coach Steve Smith.
THE TEXAS-ARLINGTON MAVERICKS
Texas-Arlington (22-22) is in its fourth season under the direction of head coach Jeff Curtis, a 1990 Nebraska-Kearney graduate. Curtis has amassed a 120-102 career record, all coming at UTA.
UTA Notes: The Mavericks have not been more than three games above or below .500 at any point this season. ... The Mavericks are 2-5 since defeating Baylor two weeks ago at Arlington. ... Texas-Arlington hits .264 as a team with 18 home runs, 70 doubles, seven triples and 56 stolen bases in 73 attempts. The Mavericks average 5.3 runs per game and produce 18.0 bases per game with a 1.305 offensive efficiency rating. ... UTA boasts a 4.74 staff ERA with eight complete games, five shutouts, seven saves and 256 strikeouts against 135 walks in 395.1 innings. Opponents hit .291 against UTA pitching. ... The Mavericks field at a .970 clip with 51 errors and 34 double plays turned. Opponents are 30-of-50 in stolen base attempts.
SMITH NEARS ANOTHER MILESTONE
Baylor head coach Steve Smith enters Tuesday's game against Texas-Arlington one win shy of victory No. 400 in his collegiate career, all coming at Baylor. Now in his 11th season at the helm of the Baylor program, Smith is 399-250-1.
BAYLOR IN STATISTICAL RANKINGS
While Baylor ranks last in the Big 12 Conference in overall batting average, the Bears rank third in conference games with a .278 batting average (four hundredths of a point behind leader Texas Tech). Baylor ranks fourth overall in team ERA (3.09) and first in conference games (2.50, 0.41 below second-ranked Texas).
Individually, RHP Ryan LaMotta ranks second in the Big 12 with a 1.59 ERA, while RHP Mark McCormick (2.85) ranks 12th, LHP Trey Taylor (3.62) ranks 19th and LHP Cory VanAllen (3.90) ranks 24th.
BEARS' BULLPEN CONTINUES TO SHINE
Through 43 games, Baylor's bullpen has a 10-2 record with a 2.37 ERA and a .222 opponents' batting average in 163.0 innings. The Bears have been even stronger out of the pen on the weekend, going 7-1 with a 1.92 ERA, 11 saves and a .219 opponents' batting average in 103.1 innings.
Furthermore, the trio of RHP Ryan LaMotta, RHP Jeff Mandel and RHP Abe Woody has been dominant this season. That trio is 7-1 with a 1.33 ERA, 10 saves and a .183 opponents' batting average in 81.1 innings on weekends.
In Big 12 Conference play, Baylor's bullpen is 3-1 with a 1.38 ERA, seven saves and a .206 opponents' batting average in 52.0 innings. LaMotta (19.1 innings), Mandel (10.1 innings) and RHP Tyler Bullock (4.1 innings) have combined to allow only one unearned run in Big 12 play.
OUTFIELD BATS WARM WITH WARMER WEATHER
Through the season's first two months, Baylor OFs Reid Brees, Chase Gerdes and Kevin Sevigny had a combined .217 (40-for-184). Since the calendar turned to April, though, that trio has combined for a .326 average (42-for-129).
As a team, Baylor has hit .278 in the month of April after hitting .259 through February and March.
Meanwhile, Baylor's pitchers continue to sharpen as the season progresses. In February, the Bears had a staff ERA of 3.94. That dropped to 3.06 in March and has dropped to 2.59 in April. Opponents hit .251 against Baylor pitching in February, .229 in March and .216 in April.
ARSENAL OF OPPOSING ARMS CONTINUES
Through 43 games, only two opposing pitchers this season had a losing record going into the game: UTSA's Ryan Crew (0-1) and Arizona State's Pat Bresnehan (0-1).
In fact, the 43 opposing starting pitchers Baylor has faced this season had a combined 101-35 record entering their starts against Baylor. However, the Bears' opposing starting pitchers are 12-22 in their games against the Bears.
Additionally, Baylor has faced three of the nation's five returning 12-game winners, doing so in successive weekend series against Oral Roberts (Dennis Bigley), Arizona State (Jason Urquidez) and Long Beach State (Cesar Ramos).
BEARS BEST IN THE BIG 12
Baylor has the best conference record of any team in the Big 12 Conference since the league's start in 1997. At 150-88 (.630), the Bears are ahead of Texas (146-95, .606) and Texas Tech (144-95-1; .602). Included in the first eight seasons for Baylor are one Big 12 championship (2000) and a pair of runner-up finishes (1998, 1999).
On top of that, Baylor is the only Big 12 Conference school to have ranked in the top 10 nationally during each of the past eight seasons (1998-2005). Baylor joins Oklahoma State as the only schools to have never finished below .500 in Big 12 play.
Including the 2004 totals, Baylor leads all conference schools in Big 12 history in both first-team All-Big 12 selections (21) and in first-team Academic All-Big 12 selections (41).
BEARS REMAIN HIGH IN PSEUDO RPI RANKINGS
Through games of April 17, Baylor ranks sixth nationally in the pseudo RPI rankings at www.BoydsWorld.com. With a 0.630 rating, the Bears are just behind Florida and Miami, Fla., both at 0.633. Texas ranks first at 0.642, followed by Tulane (0.641) and Georgia Tech (0.641).
A large reason for Baylor's high RPI ranking is its strength of schedule and the Bears' record against strong opponents. Baylor holds the nation's best record against nationally ranked opponents at 10-1, and the Bears' schedule ranks as the nation's ninth-toughest entering the week.
Of Baylor's 38 games this season, 30 were against teams ranked in the RPI top 100 with 22 games against the RPI top 50 and 14 games against the RPI top 30. The Bears are 10-4 against the top 30, including an 8-4 mark against the top 20 and a 4-2 mark against the top 10.
BAYLOR SCHEDULE AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST
Baylor's 2005 schedule ranked fourth nationally preseason and is ranked ninth in this week's rankings at www.BoydsWorld.com. That tough schedule should come as no surprise; Baylor has ranked 13th or better in strength of schedule each of the past six seasons.
The Bears are 11-3 this season against ranked opponents, including a 6-0 mark against teams ranked in the top 10.
Baylor opened the season at the Minute Maid Park College Classic, followed by a streak of six consecutive weekend series against teams ranked nationally in the Baseball America Preseason Top 25. The Bears played 20 consecutive weekend games against teams ranked nationally in one of the four major polls at some point this season.
FORD, REYNOLDS ON WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST
1B Kyle Reynolds and C Josh Ford represent Baylor on the watch list for the Wallace Award, which is presented to the nation's top collegiate player by the College Baseball Foundation. Cal State Fullerton catcher Kurt Suzuki won the initial Brooks Wallace Award last season.
The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semi-finalists by May 24. The selection committee then will narrow the list to three finalists following the NCAA Super Regionals.
The selection committee for the Wallace Award is comprised of a national panel of coaches, sports information directors, former winners and media. Screening Committee members will evaluate the candidates and will continue their review throughout the entire baseball season. Additional Wallace Watch candidates may be added as the season progresses. Voting for the three finalists and the Wallace Award winner will be conducted by confidential balloting, with totals tabulated by the J.W. Anderson & Associates accounting firm in Lubbock.
WOODY NAMED TO STOPPER WATCH LIST
RHP Abe Woody has been named to the initial watch list for the 2005 National Stopper of the Year Award, sponsored by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. One of 30 Division I closers from across the nation in the running for the first-year award, Woody joins Texas junior J. Brent Cox as the only Big 12 Conference closers on the list.
A product of Round Rock [Texas] High School, Woody boasts a career record of 11-1 with a 3.58 ERA and 10 saves in 57 career relief appearances. He led the Bears with five saves last season and is currently tied for second in the Big 12 with two saves this season. Woody has tallied 83 career strikeouts in 110.1 innings of work while holding opponents to a .212 batting average.
At the end the regular season, the Division I leader in saves and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as the award's finalists. These finalists will be released June 1, just prior to the beginning of NCAA regional play. From the list of finalists, the NCBWA's All-America Committee will select a winner. The inaugural winner will be announced on June 8, two days prior to the beginning of NCAA Super Regional action.
McCORMICK ON CLEMENS AWARD WATCH LIST
RHP Mark McCormick is among 42 pitchers named to the initial watch list for the 2005 Clemens Award, presented July 14 to the nation's top collegiate pitcher by the Greater Houston Baseball Association.
McCormick, who is projected to be a first-round draft pick in June's First-Year Player Draft, was 2-4 with a 4.70 ERA in 46.0 innings covering 11 appearances and 10 starts last season. However, he missed six weeks of the season due to a shoulder injury. McCormick was named first-team preseason All-America by Baseball America earlier this year.
The list is comprised of all Division I pitchers who were named as pre-season All-Americans by either Baseball America or Collegiate Baseball, in addition to those pitchers who have been honored so far this season as National Pitchers of the Week by the National College Baseball Writers Association. Weekly winners of the writer's award will be added to the list until the start of the first round of voting at the end of April. Additional nominees will be added to the ballot based on notable performances and rankings in the NCAA statistical rankings.
HEAD COACH Steve Smith
Steve Smith begins his second decade as head coach at Baylor in 2005. In his first decade, Smith guided the program to near unprecedented heights, including the most successful six-year run in the program's 100-year history.
Smith has compiled a 399-250-1 (.615) career record, all at Baylor. He holds the best winning percentage of any coach in Baylor baseball history, and he ranks second among the program's 18 head coaches in career victories. Smith has led Baylor to six NCAA Regional appearances, two NCAA Super Regional appearances and the 2000 Big 12 Conference title. He also has coached 12 All-America selections and seven USA Baseball National Team members while at Baylor.
In January 2005, Smith was named head coach of the USA Baseball National Team for the upcoming summer. Smith is just the second Big 12 Conference coach to serve as head coach of the national team. He also previously served as an assistant coach under his former Mississippi State boss Ron Polk on the 1998 USA Baseball National Team that posted an overall record of 30-12.
Smith led the Bears to their first-ever 50-win season in 1999 and a Big 12 championship in 2000, and piloted the team to six straight NCAA appearances from 1998 to 2003. His Bears have the best conference record in the Big 12 since the league began. Through the 2004 season, Smith ranked 47th nationally among active coaches in winning percentage with a .628 mark, fourth among Big 12 coaches.
The 2000 Big 12 Coach of the Year, Smith came to Baylor from Mississippi State, where he was an assistant under Ron Polk for five seasons. Prior to that, he served as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M.
A former standout pitcher at Baylor in 1982-1983, Smith led the Southwest Conference with a 1.72 ERA as a junior. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 1983 Major League Draft by the San Francisco Giants and played four years of pro ball before moving into the coaching ranks.
An accomplished pitching coach, Smith has tutored six pitchers in the last 12 years who were selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. He also had at least one pitcher named to the all-conference first team for 11 straight years (1992-2002).
In Smith's 10 seasons as head coach, the Bears have produced four first-round draft picks, 10 All-Americans, six Academic All-Americans, one National Player of the Year, one GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year, 25 first-team all-conference performers, nine freshman All-Americans, and three conference players of the year. Baylor has also placed a league-leading 41 players on the Academic All-Big 12 first team in the past eight seasons.
STREAMING VIDEO AVAILABLE FOR SELECT GAMES
Live streaming video is available for select games during the 2004 season. A total of 24 games will be available online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor athletics and a member of the College Sports Online network. Seventeen of the 24 webcasts will be against Big 12 Conference opponents, including the Bears' three-game league sets against Oklahoma, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Missouri, as well as the home portion of the Texas series.
Fans may purchase the games for $4.95 per game or $9.95 for a three-series. Fans also have the option of purchasing monthly ($6.95) or annual ($49.95) subscriptions which include all BearCasts in that time period. These remaining games will be available in the BearCast package:
April 29, 30, May 1 - Texas Tech
May 13, 14, 15 - Texas A&M
May 20, 21, 22 - Missouri
BAYLOR BASEBALL RADIO NETWORK
Catch every inning of Baylor baseball in 2005 on the flagship station for Baylor athletics, ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM Waco.
Tom Barfield and Lark Smith are in their fourth season together as the primary play-by-play and color men for Baylor baseball. Barfield, the operations manager for KRZI/KRZX and KLRK-FM in Waco, is best known as co-host of the afternoon "You Make the Call" call-in show. Barfield saw his first action calling Baylor baseball in 2002, when he and Smith called the Bears' sweep of Southern California at Dodger Stadium.
Smith, whose attachment to Baylor baseball dates back to the days of coach Dutch Schroeder, was Sports Director for the Baylor campus radio station in the late 1970s and served as play-by-play voice for the Bears' 1977 and 1978 College World Series teams. After nearly two decades in broadcasting, Smith now works for the Heart O'Texas Federal Credit Union in Waco.
Live streaming audio for all 2005 Baylor baseball games are available on the Internet at www.BaylorBears.com. BU baseball is also a staple of the daily "Baylor SportsBeat" hosted by John Morris and airing weekdays at 7:25am and 5:25pm on ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM.
BAYLORBEARS.COM
Baylor's official athletic web site can be found at www.BaylorBears.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases, photos, biographical sketches and audio broadcasts, is part of the College Sports Online network, which currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including four Big 12 schools.
INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, airs weekly throughout Central Texas and the region. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports Net Southwest and the College Channel (Waco cable channel 18). KCEN carries the show at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, and it airs at 1 p.m. Wednesdays on FSN Southwest.
UP NEXT ...
Baylor continues a five-game home stand this weekend, hosting Texas Tech for a three-game Big 12 Conference series at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears and the Red Raiders meet Friday at 7 p.m. CDT, Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Saturday's game will be televised live on FSN Southwest.
